Style-conscious family SUV is the first electric car based on big-bet Stellantis platform
MATT SAUNDERS
TESTED 9.5.24, WORCESTERSHIRE ON SALE NOW
Enabled by Stellantis’s new electric-first STLA Medium platform, Peugeot is going after wealthier buyers and bigger-fish EV rivals than it has previously.
This e-3008 shows how. A mid-sized, five-seat, coupé-styled SUV, it competes with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Volvo EX40 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Both a seven-seat e-5008 SUV and an e-408 fastback are due on sale in the UK later this year, using the same platform.
The advantages that platform does and doesn’t give the e-3008 are interesting to note. Unlike most of its rivals, this is a primarily front-wheel-drive car – and a relatively heavy one (between 100kg and 230kg heavier than key rivals). It would surely have been a challenge to make a rear-mounted motor sit comfortably in a mid-sized, seven-seat car like the e-5008, if you think about it. But because the platform itself needs to be able to support the greater weight of bigger cars, it’s probably necessarily a little over-engineered for this application.
The e-3008’s bulk doesn’t seem to hurt its range. Buyers can choose a 73kWh or 98kWh battery, the latter delivering an official range of beyond 400 miles and even the former getting well beyond 300.
Judged relative to its rivals, this is quite a tall and high-waisted car, but while it offers a big boot (almost 600 litres), its cabin space isn’t so impressive. Instead,
